ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. – Hot second half shooting combined with four double figure scorers helped Bowie State University defeat Elizabeth City State University 72-65 in the R.L. Vaughan Center on Saturday afternoon.
With the win the Bulldogs (12-9, 5-5 CIAA, 1-3 North) snap a three-game slide and earn their first divisional victory.
Senior
Andre Jackson (Baltimore, Md.) led four Bulldog players in double figures with a personal season-high 20 points, going 6-for-10 from the floor and a perfect 7-of-7 at the charity stripe. Sophomore
Ahmaad Wilson (Baltimore, Md.) added 11 points, while senior
Julian Livingston (Bowie, Md.) chipped in 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field. Senior
Justin Beck (Ellicott City, Md.) recorded his third double-double of the season, tallying 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Bulldogs connected on 23-of-43 total field goals (53.5 percent), made 7-of-11 triples (63.6 percent) and converted 19-of-27 free throws (70.4 percent). Bowie State's total field goal and 3-point field goal percentages were both season-highs.
Bowie State torched the twine at a 72.7 percent clip in the second half, knocking down 16-of-22 from the field, which included 4-of-5 behind the 3-point line.
Elizabeth City State jumped out to a 4-0 start and pushed their lead to 10 points (16-6) by the 8:58 mark of the opening period. However, the Bulldogs outscored the Vikings 16-6 over the next 7:25 to trim the deficit to 24-22.
A deep triple by BSU's
Andre Jackson gave the Bulldogs its first lead at 25-24 with 1:05 to go in the first half and took a 27-26 advantage into halftime.
The Bulldogs used a 17-8 burst to start the second half, extending their lead to 44-34 by the 11:58 mark. During that run,
Andre Jackson was responsible for eight of those points.
The Vikings did not go away quietly, trimming the Bulldogs lead down to four twice with the last (59-55) coming with 5:32 remaining in the contest.
DeCarlos Anderson (Portsmouth, Va.) led the Elizabeth City State Vikings (7-10, 4-6 CIAA, 0-4 North) with a team-high 15 points. Miykael Faulcon (Durham, N.C.) tallied 13 points and Clayton Cowell (Hampton, Va.) scored 10 points. Matthew McIntosh (Bowie, Md.) pulled down a team-high six rebounds in the Vikings loss.
Bowie State will have a week to prepare for their Saturday (2/6) rematch against Lincoln University of Pennsylvania. The Bulldogs host the Lions in a 4 p.m. CIAA Northern Division battle in BSU's Leonidas S. James Complex (A.C. Jordan Arena).
